Honda unveils 2009 Tokyo Auto Salon lineup
Click above for a hi-res gallery of the Sports Modulo S2000 Concept and friends
Detroit's not the only auto show kicking off on January 11. The annual Tokyo Auto Salon (think "Japanese SEMA") also kicks off this Sunday, and Honda has announced the vehicle lineup it'll display at Makuhari Messe. The two headliners are the Sports Modulo S2000 and Fit concepts. The former is a somewhat ghastly take on Honda's two-seat sports car, with a face that belongs in an aquarium and side cladding straight from a '90s Pontiac stylist's wildest fantasies. Inside, the Sports Modulo S2000 Concept is actually very nice, with swanky brown leather adorning a variety of surfaces. It still doesn't atone for that clock-stoppingly ugly body kit, though. Read on for some brief commentary on a pair of other concepts headed to the show, and check out the gallery below for the complete model rundown.
Gallery: Honda at Tokyo Auto Salon 2009
The Sports Modulo Fit Concept is so orange, all that's missing is a Fanta logo on the doors. Not even the wheels are left untouched -- one spoke on each of the gunmetal grey Modulo rims gets the Sunkist treatment. Inside, it looks as if Halloween exploded all over the cabin. What isn't black is orange, and you'll find sport seats, a sport steering wheel, supplemental gauges, etc. Did we mention that there's orange?
The last ride we'll touch on before sending you to the gallery to check out the rest is the Honda Life Style Study. This is a girl's car. Period. It's got pink paint, pink wheels, patterned pink seat covers, and appears to have been set upon -- inside and out, mind you -- by a horde of Bedazzler-wielding Japanese schoolgirls. There are rhinestones everywhere. This is not something Steve McQueen would have driven.
As for the rest, it's a mix of new cars like the Honda Zest Spark, tricked production vehicles such as the Sports Modulo Civic Type R and Touring Modulo Accord Tourer (winner in the 'Best Name" category), and a smattering of other design studies. They're all labeled in the gallery below.
Gallery: Honda at Tokyo Auto Salon 2009
[Source: Honda]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mazda FTW! 11:08AM (1/07/2009)
The first thing I thought of when I saw that bumper on the S2000 was 'Mazda Furai Concept'.
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izaerian 11:31AM (1/07/2009)
definitely some "Flow" rips in the front of the Fit and the S2k.
tristan 11:31AM (1/07/2009)
congrats honda for building the ugliest cars by far of any large automaker!
Gary 11:08AM (1/07/2009)
Ugh. No wonder Hyundai is doing so well...
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Dondonel 12:11PM (1/07/2009)
yes, most are disasters, but the grill of the jdm accord, along the lines of the old accord, looks much better than current tsx.
revvo 12:52PM (1/07/2009)
The accord looks better than the current TSX, but the Honda Civic also looks IMO better than our Acura CSX here in Canada.
The rest is just too "Japanese" (different) for my liking. Too bad about that s2000 though, the last gen of s2000's are sweet cars. Very high revving and for the price you have a boxster performing car.
JZeke 11:15AM (1/07/2009)
That S2K exterior is gross, but Honda really ought to have redesigned the interior along those lines years ago.
The addition of a navigation screen is a major improvement, as is the more traditional gauge cluster. I never got comfortable with the orange/red LCD display in the stock S2K, and it looked dated only a year after its introduction.
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Chris 5:47PM (1/07/2009)
Navigation has always been optional on the Japanese S2000.
Also, drive an S2000 and you'll understand why it has the digital gauges. I didn't get it at all either until I drove one and bounced around the redline for a day.
chconline 11:21AM (1/07/2009)
Even girls won't drive something like that (The "Honda Life Style Study") :|
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Mazda FTW! 11:30AM (1/07/2009)
ESPECIALLY girls. They love big cars and trucks. Everytime I ask a gf is she wants to get a Mini or Beetle she gives me a disgusted look and picks a X3 or CX-7 instead. The last thing they want is to be seen in a girly car.
moyoi 12:39PM (1/07/2009)
they went apesh*it with that bedazzler!
Cory 11:34AM (1/07/2009)
HAHAHAHAHA!!!! That lifestyle study car is one of the funniest factory efforts I've seen in a long time. Thanks for that Honda. Sweet throw pillows. It might sell to super flamboyant gay dudes, too (not that there's anything wrong with that.) I notice it has a nav system. If it also has an accident avoidance system and a location tracking system it's PERFECT for HS girls.
Seriously, though why don't we get that Accord Tourer? Me likee. Even without the Modulo treatment I'd like it. Nice avoidance of the term "wagon" without being as abstract as "Avant".
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Farris 11:42AM (1/07/2009)
S2000? What's that?
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pcrager 11:50AM (1/07/2009)
It's a great car that people love to hate on!
That Modulo stuff is pretty ugly, but then again it's for the Japanese market who love that styling.
Farris 1:04PM (1/07/2009)
pcragar: I was just messing around because they have killed off it's replacement.
Alex 12:30PM (1/07/2009)
The pink car has some BLING! BLING! lol
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timgates2 12:33PM (1/07/2009)
If I were to ever buy a new TSX my first after sale purchase would be the grill from the Euro Accord. I love Honda but they are really getting on my nerves lately with their designs. They are very good overall but there is always something that looks..well..just wrong about them. I personally do not know anyone over the age of 11 that would drive that "Honda Life Style Study" crap. I guess if the Hello Kitty series was ever made into a live action movie you would see this car in action. My daughter would love it, but, um, she's 7 and I don't think she could swing the payments on her allowance. What the hell were they thinking.
Please cut it out Honda, please. Please do something interesting to the Acura lineup in America instead of wasting efforts to make (really tasteless) auto show history. One last request.. Please bring back the RSX (Integra)!
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s13hybrid 1:43PM (1/07/2009)
Accord Wagon.
Do want.
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Rick 1:55PM (1/07/2009)
Orange carbon fiber!?!! Hideous. And the blinged out Hello Kitty is laughable.
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Banilejo 3:29PM (1/07/2009)
This is just a concept (and a very ugly one at that) so hopefully they will never make it. Why they even bother is beyond me, this car needs to be put to rest. FYI - the nav screen has been available in the JDM model for a while.
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